Aloo Palak | How to make Aloo Palak Curry

This classic Aloo Palak features fork-tender potatoes in a smooth, lightly spiced creamy spinach sauce. It’s a flavorful spinach curry that is ready to enjoy in less than an hour, and pairs great with rice and any number of sides. Here you’ll find step-by-step photos and instructions for how to make a delicious aloo palak at home!

About This Aloo Palak

There are several different types of fantastic palak-based dishes that I like to make. The word palak means “spinach” in Hindi, so these dishes always include some form of fresh green spinach. Therefore, palak recipes tend to be wonderfully flavorful and even healthy. The word ‘aloo’ refers to potatoes.

I have shared many of my favorite spinach recipes, such as this dry Palak Sabzi and Palak Khichdi. However, I do prefer richer palak recipes that have a smooth sauce or gravy.

This Aloo Palak is similar to Palak Paneer, that is made with cubes of paneer (Indian cottage cheese), but instead has tender pieces of boiled potatoes. So it’s a hearty, flavorful, and super comforting vegetarian dish!

To give the lightly spiced curry a hint of sweet and nutty flavor, I add a bit of gram flour (besan). Feel free to include in your version as well, or use maize flour (makai ka atta) for the same bit of sweetness.

If you are not fond of potatoes, then choose to omit them and make a simple spinach curry without them using this recipe as base. Or feel free to add in your preferred veggies.

Make a batch in less than an hour and pair with classic Punjabi sides for a satisfying dinner any night of the week!

How to make Aloo Palak Curry

Cook Potatoes (Aloo)

1. First, boil or steam 3 medium sized potatoes in a stovetop pressure cooker or steamer or a pan. You can also steam them in the Instant Pot.

Rinse the potatoes very well in water. Place them in a 2 litre stovetop pressure cooker and add enough water to cover them completely.

On medium heat pressure cook for about 7 to 8 minutes or until the potatoes are softened and fork-tender. Make sure not to overcook potatoes as they will fall apart when cooking later.

When the pressure drops down on its own in the cooker then only open the lid. Drain all the water and set the potatoes aside.

Note that you can also use 20 to 25 baby potatoes instead of regular potatoes.

2. When warm or cool, peel and quarter or dice the boiled potatoes. Set aside covered.

Blanch and Puree Spinach

3. Rinse 1 bunch of palak leaves or spinach (200 grams) a couple of times in water, and then drain the water very well. Make sure to clean the leaves and stems thoroughly.

If the stems are tender, then add them. If they are fibrous and stringy, then discard them.

4. In a pan, boil 2 to 3 cups of water with a generous pinch of salt.

5. When the water comes to a boil, then switch off the heat and immediately add the spinach leaves into the hot water.

6. Cover with a lid and blanch the palak in hot water for 1 minute.

7. Drain and immediately place the palak leaves in cold water for 1 minute. You can add few ice cubes to make the water cold.

8. Drain the water again. Then add the drained spinach and 1 to 2 green chilies (1 teaspoon green chillies or serrano pepper) to a grinder or blender.

Puree until smooth and set aside. You don’t need to add any water while blending the blanched spinach.

9. Measure out the remaining ingredients, and set to the side. You’ll be adding these very quickly to a hot pan, so it’s best to have everything prepped and ready to go beforehand.

Sautéing Aromatics

10. Heat 2 tablespoons of ghee (clarified butter), oil, or butter in a pan or kadai (wok). Keep the heat to a low.

11. Add 1 small tej patta (Indian bay leaf), 3 cloves and 1 broken cinnamon stick to the hot ghee.

12. Fry the spices until they become aromatic on a low heat and make sure they do not burn.

13. Add ⅓ to ½ cup of chopped onions.

14. Sauté stirring often on a low to medium-low heat until the onion turns light brown.

15. Now add 1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste.

16. Sauté for some seconds or until the raw aroma of ginger and garlic goes away.

17. Add ½ cup chopped tomatoes.

18. Sauté stirring often until the tomatoes become soft and mushy. The oil should start separating from the sides of the mixture.

19. Now add ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 pinch of asafoetida (hing). Omit asafoetida if you do not have it.

20. Stir for 5 to 10 seconds.

Make Spinach Curry

21. Now add the prepared spinach or palak puree to the pan.

22. Stir to combine and mix evenly.

23. Add 1.5 tablespoons of besan (gram flour) or 1.5 tablespoon maize flour (makai ka atta). You can swap gram flour with chickpea flour.

24. Stir with a wired whisk or a wooden spatula so that the besan dissolves and there are no lumps. 

Alternatively, you dissolve the besan in 3 to 4 tablespoons of water and make a smooth paste first. Then add this paste to the palak mixture.

25. Add 1 cup of water or as required. You can adjust the consistency by adding more or less water.

26. Mix to combine to make a smooth gravy or sauce.

27. Add salt and mix well again.

28. Simmer the gravy or sauce, until the spinach is cooked.

29. The spinach curry or gravy will slightly thicken as it simmers. Once you get to the desired consistency and if you simply want to make a spinach curry, then stop at this step – serve the spinach curry garnished with ginger julienne.

At this point if making a simple spinach curry, you can opt to add 1 to 2 tablespoons of light cream or cooking cream. Mix the cream with the rest of the curry.

Make Aloo Palak

30. Next add the cooked potatoes.

31. Gently stir. You don’t want to break the potatoes apart.

32. Simmer the aloo palak curry for 2 to 3 minutes more, until the color of the spinach changes from vibrant to a more deep, earthy green.

33. Sprinkle in ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala powder and ½ teaspoon crushed kasuri methi leaves (dry fenugreek leaves).

Omit the dry fenugreek leaves if you do not have it on hand.

34. Stir and cook the aloo palak gravy for another minute.

35. If you like, garnish with a bit of julienned fresh ginger.

36. Serve Aloo Palak hot or warm with some roti or paratha or naan or cumin rice or saffron rice or tandoori roti.

FAQs

More Tasty Recipes To Try!

Vegetable Recipes

Aloo Gobi (2 Ways) | Aloo Gobi ki Sabji & Curry

Vegetable Recipes

Aloo Methi Recipe

Indian Curry Recipes

Aloo Matar Recipe | Punjabi Aloo Mutter

Dal (Lentils) & Legumes

Dal Palak Recipe | Easy Spinach Dal

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more vegetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.

This aloo palak post from the archives (June 2013) has been republished and updated on 2 October 2021.